Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Jerome (331 - 420) was one of the great scholars of the early church, a man who strove to gather great literary and scholarly works into one place. He even translated or copied out many of these works himself. By virtue of surrounding himself with such great works, he was able to create produce impressive theological works himself. His view of studying Scripture is summed up is his maxim:: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

Jerome is best known for spearheading a new translation of the Bible into Latin, which came to be known as the Vulgate. This translation became the most influential text in Western Europe for more than a millennia, dominating its era more fully and for longer than the King James Version did.

As a result of his scholarly accomplishments in terms of Bible translation and other scholarly work, St. Jerome is considered the patron of librarians, archivists, and encyclopedists.

And that makes him pretty much the unofficial patron saint of Dorkness to Light.

Friday, September 25, 2015

In the fourth episode of the first season of AMC's Fear the Walking Dead, the bible reference "Rev 21:4" appears. It has been affixed to a chain-link fence that separates the community from the National Guard instillation that is "protecting" the community.

The verse, in the New King James Version, says "And
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away.”

In a scene just a few minutes later, a portion of the text of the verse is seen, tacked up in the zombie-infested side of town. So they definitely used a real verse (I'm looking at you, X-Files) and quoted it properly.

Now there is a basic rule in Robert Kirkman's work that any character of faith or show of devotion is punished, usually in a pretty gruesome way. So the inclusion of any Bible verse in the prequel series is an interesting choice.

One attraction of the verse to the producers may be the end of the passage. The words on the sign, the beginning of the verse, speak to the blessed hope of the believer, and is routinely used as a source of comfort. The promise of the former things passing way is a wonderful promise, as the glory of the coming Kingdom is the ultimate good news for creation.

But I wonder if the show is thinking about the end of the verse, commenting on the notion that in the world of their show, the former things have indeed passed away. A more cynical take on the verse is that the zombie apocalypse does indeed wipe away the former things, but what replaces it is far, far worse.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

A legitimately funny cartoon from Adam4d. There are many things about Christian culture to poke some fun at, and the myriad Bible translations available in the English language is definitely a good choice. The characterizations of the New King James and the ESV struck me as particularly funny.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

"We Become What We Fight,"
by Ray Fawkes, with art by Ben Templesmith. Cover by Ben Templesmith.

We continue to learn the origins of the members of Gotham City’s “Midnight
Shift” in issue 3. This time, we get to know Detective Lisa Drake. We learn how
the punk-chick undercover cop met Detective Corrigan – he was tied up in the
trunk in a car and Drake was tasked by her drug boss to kill him. But she
manifested an unexplained power, a sort of supernatural Black Canary shriek.

Corrigan recognizes Drake’s power, which she admits she’s been living with
for years. “You start to feel sick sometimes, and you need to shout it out,
right? It hurts, but not as bad as if you keep it in.”

I like that we are getting to know Jim Corrigan in this series as something
other than JUST the Spectre’s host. He shows some real human decency in this
issue, as well as useful management skills and well-earned wisdom. Yes, I do
want the Spectre to manifest soon, but I do appreciate the patience that Fawkes
has shown in providing us a slow-burn style of storytelling.

Corrigan does poke fun at the supernatural aspects of their group. Detective
Drake asks “why are we here,” referring to Gotham County Hospital. But he
answers as if she were asking a more cosmic question, answering that they were “fulfilling
God’s plan, y’know, in, like, mysterious ways.”

I also like how this slow-burn style also impacts the introduction of the
team member. The key is that Fawkes has been able to include this info while
also telling the story of the particular case they have been investigating. Templesmith’s
art is critical in keeping the issue visually interesting, even when the overall
plot is only pushed forward a little bit. The world is so different from
anything else in comics, and the story contains so much crazy stuff in it, that moving slowly enables readers to be comfortable in the world of this comic.

In terms of the longer arc, the case of Gotham’s stolen children continues,
as the team is attempting to translate the strange language the children now
speak. The children, under observation at a hospital, also seem to be manifesting
weird shadows. By the end of the issue, the team is certain that Gotham is
under attack. Doctor Szandor Tarr asks the sums up the situation on the final
page.

“After seeing what this creature almost did, I shudder to think what’s next.
But perhaps we can make ourselves ready?”